Stabiliscope.



B. o. WILLIS. STABILISCOPE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1916.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

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STABILISCOPE.

To a whom it may concern} a citizen of the United States, and a resident lowing is a full, clear, and exact description. This invention relates to safety appliances of Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have'invented a new and Improved Stabiliscope, of which the folfor use on or in connection with automobiles or other road vehicles for the purpose of determiningor indicating tothe driver or other occupant of the vehicle the condition of safety of the roadway or stability of the conveyance while passing along roadways the accompanying drawings,

of doubtful or tion.

Among the objects of the invention, therefore, is. to provide a means whereby; any 00- cupant of the vehicle may be able to know at any time at a glance the condition ofstaprecarious sidewise inclinability of the conveyance.

. Another object of vide a means whereby the-condition ,of a prethe invention is to procarious piece of roadway with respect to the stability of the conveyance tov be driven thereover may be determined preliminary ;to' driving to or over such-spot.

of unstable equilibrium will be indicated visually without reference to any angular reading inclegrees of the departure of the conveyance from the true horizontal.

With the foregoing and other objects in View the inyention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and while the invention is not restrictedto the exact details of construction dis-closed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a prac. tical embodiment thereof reference is had-to i in which like reference characters designate .t-he saine parts in the several views, and in which-- Figure l is a front elevation partly insection of a stabiliscope shown as applicable to a roadway for the purpose of determining beforehand the condition thereof as to the safety of a conveyance, p-roposed tobe driven thereover; Fig. 2' is a longitudinal section of: the

Be it known that I, BERNARD D. WVUQLIs,

" the line H of Fig. 5;

indicator;

suitable fluid 13, such as mercuryTa a lip 17 overlapping .measuring the angle of dipor grade but,

Specification ofLettersPatent. m m fs e A pucationmeamym,191s. seria naiiaaoa. 7 '1 I frame portion of this device in folded lapsed position;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse. s'ect' the line a 3 of Fig. 1;. 'al transverse ection lon} F 1g. at is a vertic Fig. 5 is a front elevationfo fh the Fig. 6-is a transverse section'alfdet the line 6-.6 of Fig. 2;. Fig. 7 is a view similar in nature to Fig. 3, but showing the indicator suspendeduponi a bracket secured to the vehicle; Fig. 8 is a plan view of the deviceshov "1 in Fig. 7; and j 76 Fig. 9is a detail perspective Viewfotthe movable member-of the bracket. I Referring now more particularly 'to the drawings, I show in one form oradaptation of the invention, an indicator 10 comprising a flat circular casing withabody or backll;

having. a flange '12 forming a chamber for suit All at a l on}.

tamed in the chamberformed" w h v flange 1'2 by means of a face plate" 14 of transparent material. The chamber, formed as above described, is provided it'sib ackbr i bottomwith a dial 15. Thepalrjts hbo've def scribed are held together in permanent; dj relation by means of a strongriln lb having j thefedge ofth' plate. The rim is provided withga igidi Y shank 18, the sides or edges of which are fiat] and parallel. The shanlctermina-tesfat its upper end in a hub 19 through which af ge pivot pin 20 projects in a horizontal direefl tion or perpendicular tothei erticalffaiiisfjr of the shank.

' As premised above, the indicatingd'e described herein is not to be'regarded meter which may be used indis on anyflonveyance for the. purp ose of ratheras a safety device calibrated to indi cate unsafe conditions of equilibrium for till-fi is, l

llflS of the same type upon which it is to be I mediate tubular sections and the horizontal the danger tion or" the dial may be made in" any snita manner such follows: After mou the instrument securely in the vehicle or one used, in a position. to face the driver, the vehicle loaded will be secured from toppling over and then the platform upon which it stands will be tilted sidewise until the upper pair of Wheels are relieved of pressure due to weight. The position of the fluid atthe outer edge will then be marked for the -over indication. At six degrees nearer line should be drawn, and a few degrees farther down the caution line. It will be understood that this operation will be performed at the factory for each type of vehicle or particular usage for which the device is intended. it will thus be seen that since the fluid in the indicator tends to maintain a horizontal position at its upper edge, he condition ot safety of the vehicle will always be directly indicated to the driver or other occupant. The dial may he further graduated or brated to indicate the several conditions caliwhen the vehicle is empty or loaded in a predetermined manner.

The form of shank or suspending means for the indicator above referred to is important because of its correlation to the relatively stationarybracket or other supporting means to. or upon which the indicator is connected, either permanently or temporarily. As indicated in Fig. 1, i. provide abracket of atelescopic or collapsible nature adapted to be folded into small compass and carried in the tool box or the like, and when about to pass a precarious piece of roadway or section, the frame is taken out and up as indicated in Fig. l and the indicator or a duplicate indicator is suspended from the same. This frame comprises in the form shown a central section 2i, intera pair of legs 24:. The central tubular section is provided with a longitudinal slot through which the hub and pivot portions 19 and 200i the indicator are adapted to be introduced bodily to the inside of said section when the frame is extended. This slot is extended circumferentially of the section,. as'indicated at 25, to permit the shank 18 to move around toward the bot tom of the section :21. The side edges oi this slot extension are arranged in parallel planes, between which the plane edges of the shank 18 closely titso as to prevent any tendency of the indicator to .olatively to the axis of thetraine when the frame is applied. to a road having considerable pitch or nip. It will b under. cod that the in di'cator is so suppo ted upon member 21. The sections 2'2 and 23 are ranged to telescope with respect to one another and the central section 21 is plainly shown in Figs. 1 and-2. The legs are pro vided with right angular knees 25 and are pivoted at 2'? to the outer encs of the members 23. The leg and end portions adjacent the pivots are provided with square shoulders to limit the outward swinging oi the legs to positions perpendicular to the axis of the telescopic portion of the frame. The dimensions of the road bracket are such that when extended and set up, the legs are separated by the same distance as the tread of the machine. By this fact a more u accurate determinationof the condition of the roadway may be had since the legs of the bracket may occupy approximately the paths of the respective wheels. Furthermore, the bracket constitutes what may be regarded as a gage to indicate to the driver under certain conditions, where the wheels will operate and whether suilicient width of roadway is to be had for the passage of the machine. It will be understood that the indicator used in connection with the road device will be calibrated to correspond with the calibration of the-indicator to be used or connected to the vehicle which carries the frame or road device, and consequently the operator will know by direct visual indication whether or not a certain precarious piece of roadway will permit the passage of his machine or vehicle.

In Figs. 7 and 8, l. have shown the indicatorpivotally attached to the vehicle, as shown at 29. The suspending means illustrated includes a bracket secured rigidly to the vehicle frame or body an aving fixed aw 31.- A movable 3 dined J. Ell a 8b 03 to the. upper end or tilt) crack-st and is adapted to swing upwardly around the pivot parts. The padlock also is preferably termed with a lug 3'? which projects into an end seat 38 while the bend of the shackle fits into an end groove or seat 39 at the other side of the bracket, wherebyvall possibility of displacement of the lock is prevented. The indicator, however, is "free to ravitate around the axis of the pivot 2i) tdwerd or from the bracket 30, so that it will always properly indicate the condition of danger pr safety of the vehicle, irrespective oi? the dip of inclination 'of the vehicle forwardl or rearwardly. The impact or cator against the frame or bracket may nentrah ized by suitable spr' iecojoe oom- .L e condition of stahil 1 which thestahiliseope by virtue of the position of d it zrigid shank extending from .115; pivotal wnneetion with the '18, the pivotfor such eonarallel. with the plane of said oody provid if :filin adjacent the body ml l ft dui ilic'ete radio "arioos eondi its axis parallel with the planeof said dial, and a .eiatlvely means for the ends of the pivot serving to hold the pivot axis in a fixed position with.

ies'peot to th ting free :too

said axis;

The he supporting means but permit- A eat at the HICllCitlJOI" around eater coi'o'prising a disk like body having 2L circular flange providing in the body a ezu 'ity, a face plate fitted over the edge of the flange, a dial fitted in the bottom of the cavity and hi ing radial calibrations formed thereon, a body of liquid half filling the between the face plate and the dial, a rim securing the aforesald parts to- "ether, and suspending means connected to 1e rim, said suspending means providing the free pivotal movement of the indifomvzi'rdly and rearwardly but preeupportmg z'neane.

. A W 1821150 WEB. l' l lLLub,

1 t ting of the same laterally with etationar 1 supporting *eie described stabiliscope indi- 

